Effectiveness of Mustard Plaster on Knee Pain and inability in elderly at selected old age home in Vellore

Effectiveness of Mustard plaster on knee pain and inability in elderly at selected old age home the objectives of the study are to assess To assess the pretest and post test level of pain and inability in Elderly. To assess the effectiveness of mustard plaster application among the clients with Knee pain in Elderly . To find the association between the pretest level and post test level of inability and pain in elderly with selected demographic Variables. To find the association between the pretest level and post test level of inability and pain in elderly with selected clinical Variables. The research approach is pre-expermental involving only only one group pretest and post test design was adopted .purposive sampling technique was adopted to choose . Inability was assessed by Womac index and Pain was assessed by using Numeric Rating scale. Mustard plaster was applied on the knee for 15 minutes once a day for five days continously. The major findings of the study are Most of the Elderly were of the age group >70 years (53.33%).40% of them had sedentary life style previously and level of education 56.67% had only primary education and 30% were illiterate remaining 13.33% were educated. Majority of them 46.67% were Non –vegeterian and 20% ova lacto vegeterians ,33.33% were pure vegeterians. 41% of them are heavy workers previously, 33%moderate workers and 26% sedentary workers. Elderly involving with habits of Smoking ,Alcoholism and other habits were minimal. Only 13.33% had involved in sports previously.43.33% elderly were taking medications. 97 Significant percentage of them had body Mass index 25-30 ,were obese 36.67% and overweight were 33.33%,46.67 elderly had staggering gait in which 36.67used sticks and 13.33% used tripods to walk 33.33 % had stable gait.40.00% had pain from squatting to standing and 36.67% had pain when standing for long periods .There is equal distribution of Acute and chronic involvement of pain 23.67% - 26.33% could climb only few stairs or could not climb at all level of exertion was low.Most of them 40.00% had pain on the whole Knee 23.33 % - 26.67% had pain in both lower and upper aspect of knee .Very few 10.00% had pai n in the Medial region.80.00% were not involved in any physical activity,only20.00% involved in physical activity like walking and Cycling. The elderly with Knee joint inability level was (M = 15.36; SD = 11.20) And Pain was (M = 3.30 ; SD = 1.55 ) It is noted that the difference statistically significant at p < 0.05 level which indicates that mustard plaster is effective in reducing knee joint pain and improves inability . There was no significant association between the selected demographic Variables like Age, Gender, Previous nature of Job ,food habits ,Habits , History of sports involvement and use of Medication before mustard plaster application RECOMMENDATIONS Same study can be under taken for effectiveness along with other therapies Same study can be undertaken for larger sample. Same study can be applied for back pain and shoulder pain . Similar study can be under taken for chest congestions in Pediatrics and adults . Same study can be done as experimental study for two groups

Antibacterial Activity of Three Parmotrema Species from Western Ghats of Karnataka against Clinical Isolates of Burn and Dental Caries

The present study was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of methanol extract of three species of macrolichen Parmotrema (Parmeliaceae) viz., P.tinctorum (Nyl.) Hale, P. grayanum (Hue.) Hale and P. praesorediosum (Nyl.) Hale from Western Ghats of Karnataka against clinical isolates of burn and dental caries. Identification of lichens was done by morphological, anatomical and color tests. The powdered lichen materials were extracted using methanol in soxhlet apparatus. Inhibitory potential of lichen extracts was evaluated against two isolates of Staphyloccus aureus (Sa-01 and Sa-02 from burn subjects) and two isolates of Streptococcus mutans (Sm-01 and Sm-02 from dental caries) by agar well diffusion assay. Lichen extracts were found inhibitory against all clinical isolates and the inhibitory activity was dose dependent. Among S. aureus and S. mutans isolates, Sa-02 and Sm-02 were inhibited to higher extent respectively by lichen extracts. Extract of P. praesorediosum inhibited S. aureus isolates to higher extent. Extracts of P. praesorediosum and P. tinctorum inhibited S. mutans isolates to higher extent. The lichens of this study were found promising sources for development of agents active against clinical    isolates. The observed activity of extracts could be ascribed to the  presence of secondary metabolites

Antimicrobial and Radical Scavenging Activity of Memecylon malabaricum

The present study was conducted to determine antimicrobial and radical scavenging potential of extract of two species of the genus Memecylon (Melastomataceae) viz., M. malabaricum (C.B. Clarke) Cogn. and M. talboltianum Brandis. The shade dried leaf materials of both Memecylon species were extracted using methanol. Antibacterial activity of leaf extracts was evaluated against five drug resistant uropathogenic bacteria by Agar well diffusion assay. Antifungal activity of leaf extracts was tested on the basis of mycelial growth inhibition of Colletotrichum capsici (isolated from anthracnose of chilli). Radical scavenging activity of extracts was determined by performing DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Total phenolic content of extracts was estimated by Folin-Ciocalteau reagent method. The extracts were subjected to preliminary phytochemical analysis to detect the presence of phytoconstituents. Among extracts, extract of M. malabaricum inhibited all test bacteria and inhibitory potential was marked against Gram positive bacteria than Gram negative bacteria. C. capsici was highly susceptible to extract of M. malabaricum when compared to extract of M. talboltianum. Overall, extract of M. malabaricum displayed marked antimicrobial activity than extract of M. talboltianum. Extract of M. malabaricum scavenged DPPH radicals more efficiently (IC50 6.26μg/ml) when compared to extract of M. talboltianum (IC50 43.80μg/ml). The content of total phenolics was also high in leaf extract of M. malabaricum (112μg GAE/mg) than that of M. talboltianum (28μg GAE/mg). Preliminary phytochemical analysis of leaf extracts revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, saponins and glycosides in both extracts. The antimicrobial and radical scavenging activity of leaf extracts could be ascribed to the presence of phytochemicals mainly phenolic compounds. These plants appear to be potential candidates for control of anthracnose disease of chilli and for development of agents active against drug resistant uropathogens and oxidative damage.Keywords: Memecylon; Antimicrobial; Agar well diffusion; Poisoned food technique; Antioxidant; DPP

Inhibitory Effect of Some Plants of Western Ghats of Karnataka against Colletotrichum capsici

Anthracnose is a serious disease of chilli which results in major crop loss. Species of Colletotrichum are the causative agents of chilli anthracnose. In the present study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of a total of 50 extracts from 35 plants (belonging to 23 botanical families) of Western Ghats of Shivamogga district, Karnataka, India. The powdered plant materials were extracted using methanol. The methanol extracts were screened for antifungal activity by Poisoned food technique against Colletotrichum capsici isolated from anthracnose of chilli. All extracts were effective in inhibiting the growth of C. capsici but to a varied extent (16 to 74% inhibition). The mycelial growth of fungus was found to be reduced on poisoned plates when compared to control plate. Marked inhibitory efficacy was observed in case of leaf extract of Maesa indica (74.19%) followed by leaf extract of Pimenta dioica (70.96%). Least inhibition of the fungus was shown by leaf extract of Persea macrantha (16.13%). The extent of inhibition of the fungus by other extracts ranged between 20 to 70%. In conclusion, the plants selected in this study appear promising as natural antifungal agents. Further field studies are to be conducted to determine the possible application of these plants in the control of chilli anthracnose.Keywords: Western Ghats; Antifungal activity; Poisoned food technique; Colletotrichum capsici; Anthracnose of chill

Opportunistic screening of at risk asymptomatic adolescent children for prediabetes

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) once considered an adult disease is now being reported in children and adolescents all over the world due to a parallel increase in obesity. Prediabetes is an intermediate stage between no diabetes and diagnosis of DM. Objective: To screen at risk asymptomatic adolescent children for prediabetes state. Methods: A prospective descriptive study was conducted in the outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in South India. All adolescent children between the age group of 10 and 18 years with evidence of overweight as per the World Health Organization age and sex specific centile charts for body mass index (BMI) were enrolled. The study period was 18-month. Anthropometric and demographic data were collected among these subjects and investigated for oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), fasting blood glucose (FBG), and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) as per the designed protocol. Results: Prediabetes was diagnosed in 13% of the study population with a combination of OGTT, FBG, and HbA1c tests. Prediction of prediabetes by OGTT was 10%, HbA1c 5% and by FBS was 3%. Combination of impaired glucose tolerance test with HbA1c had high sensitivity (92%) and specificity (100%). Conclusions: Our study had 13% population with increasing risk of developing T2DM. Further longitudinal studies are required to screen at risk asymptomatic adolescent children for prediabetes

Pulmonary hypertension in pregnancy

Pulmonary hypertension is defined as an increase in mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) ≥25 mmHg at rest as assessed by right heart catheterisation. Pulmonary hypertension in pregnancy is known to be associated with significantly high morbidity and mortality rate which ranges between 30% and 56%. So during pregnancy, efforts to be made to diagnose common medical ailments that can be complicated by pulmonary hypertension. Bedside 2D Echo and thoracic ultrasound are the strongly recommended in these patients to diagnose early and prevent the devastating complications. Relevant blood investigations need to be sent to diagnose the underlying etiology and to assess the prognosis. Cardiac catheterization is the gold standard investigation of choice for pulmonary hypertension. But it is 1 performed in very few cardiac centres in developing countries. In India diagnosis largely depends on echocardiography. It should be made clear to women at the time of their PAH diagnosis that pregnancy is not recommended due to the high maternal and fetal risks. If a woman with known PHT become pregnant, counselling should be given for therapeutic abortion. If they are willing for therapeutic abortion, it should be done before 22 weeks of gestation. All women with PHT should be initiated on PAH specific therapies (prostanoids, ccbs, phosphodiesterase inhibitors) except endothelin receptor blockers as it is teratogenic. Pregnancy in PAH is difficult to manage and needs mutidisciplanary team. Pregnancy is not recommended in women with PAH and appropriate counselling to be done to the mother and their relatives.

Cure from the rhizomes: the medicine behind the Indian saffron Curcumin

Indian system of medicine has always focused on cure from the nature. Plant products from the Indian household have been used as medicine to cure myriad of ailments since ancestral times. Curcumin is a polyphenol, an active ingredient found in turmeric. In Southeast Asia, turmeric has been used as a coloring, flavoring and as a therapeutic agent. The use of turmeric to treat ailments dates back to the times of Charaka and Shushrutha. It has been widely used as an antiseptic for cuts, burns, and bruises, and as an antibacterial agent. Modern medicine has begun to understand its importance in recent times. Unfortunately its poor solubility, limited absorption and enhanced metabolism limits its bioavailability for its extended therapeutic use. Integration of nanotechnology in drug design and development has led the way to development of nanocurcumin with improved pharmacological properties. A precise understanding of effective dose, safety, and mechanism of action is required for the rational use of turmeric in the treatment of human diseases. This review focuses on the molecular actions of curcumin and its possibility to be used as a therapeutic agent in conditions affecting oral mucosa

An analgesic to bridge the gap between Narcotics and NSAIDs: opiorphin

Pain management is an all-time challenge in dentistry. Discontent to pain management is a concern among patients and professionals. Unrelieved pain affects physical and mental well-being contributing to delayed recovery, psychological distress and anxiety. Studies have revealed that chronic pain interferes with normal daily chores of the individual like exercise, sleep, social life and lifestyle. At one end of pain management spectrum are Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) while at the other end are the opioids. These drugs are not without constituent side effects. The quest is for new analgesics with potent and long term analgesia with minimal or no side effects. An analgesic that is intermediate in this spectrum is the need of the hour. Opiorphin is an endogenous peptide isolated from human saliva. Opiorphin produces analgesia, by inhibiting enkephalin (ENK) metabolizing enzymes, thus increasing the half-life of circulating ENKs. Apart from being a potent analgesic it can also be a potential biomarker for various systemic and psychosocial disorders. This review focuses on the pharmacological effects of opiorphin and its potential role as a biomarker in various disease conditions